FYI, Karthik -
http://in.rediff.com/sports/20...

If I am not mistaken, the stewards said, after the monaco race, that they would have penalised Sutil by 22 secs, that would have put him outside point scoring position

Yes they did and I think he would have not scored, even if Kimi had not hit him. But the fact remains that he is a good driver and other teams will try to get him.

Any update on the race track in India, initially there were reports that we will feature in the 2009 lineup but I dont see that happening, right?

The reports continue. Mallya keeps talking about it, but I'm not sure on what progress is being made. I wish I knew someone on the inside. We are on the lookout for news regarding the track and if we find something, we will update our posts.

Dhananjay, Good point. I was trying to stress the fact that the way he was driving in Monaco when every other driver was crashing left and right,a pole (even it would have been taken away later) would have atleast made Force India hit the headlines for sometime. In the last few races I hardly see the Kingfisher logo on the track.

Reality is that FIF1, although is in good hands now, is still a back marker team. A pole is impossible, not now, but at least for the next couple of years. The only way they can score points is if they capitalize on the misfortunes of other teams. That is the way the game is played.

Even if you were to pump a billion dollars into the team, you still need someone to do the research, test and deliver. Prime example, Honda. There have always been rumors that they were the team with the biggest budget, but they are yet to seriously challenge anyone.

So sit back and relax, in a few years, we might see FIF1 fighting for victories, but it will take time.

Karthik, Thanks a lot for the information. Many things in your reply was 'news' to me.

Any update on the race track in India, initially there were reports that we will feature in the 2009 lineup but I dont see that happening, right?

Dhananjay, Good point. I was trying to stress the fact that the way he was driving in Monaco when every other driver was crashing left and right,a pole (even it would have been taken away later) would have atleast made Force India hit the headlines for sometime. In the last few races I hardly see the Kingfisher logo on the track.

"Force India would not want to show the door for Sutil either. He is young,driving well and has a bright future. Infact, he almost got the team some points in Monaco unlike Fisi."

If I am not mistaken, the stewards said, after the monaco race, that they would have penalised Sutil by 22 secs, that would have put him outside point scoring position (source www.f1racing.net)

Do you know if Karthikeyan might be considered by any other team?

I'm no expert, just a huge fan of racing in general. IMHO, I'm not sure that Narain will be considered by another team. The fact of the matter is that the drivers market is overcrowded. With the arrival of many GP2 stars (Hamilton, Glock and the likes) the number of potential drivers far exceeds the number of seats.

He was prominent in the international scene sometime ago, but faded along the way. Where do you think he missed out?

I have heard a lot of rumors about this. One fact that keeps being swept under the rug is Narain giving preferential treatment to certain parts of the press and his falling out with Collin Kolles, which became public. A spat with a team manager for an up and coming driver is never good. This combined with a lack of more sponsors might have been where he missed out.

Having said all that, one has to remember that Narain showed the path to most Indian drivers today. He walked into uncharted territory and did well.

The other reason is also that the A1GP's off season. You will start seeing more about him, when the season starts. Unfortunately, since A1GP runs when F1 is off, does not help his case, because he is not making news when it matters.

Also, is it true that Karun is a better driver than Karthikeyan?

Again no expert, but Karun is at the right place at the right time, which Narain for obvious reasons could not be. Besides GP2 is for up and coming stars, not for people who are trying to make their way back, so he cannot really compete there.

I'm sure that Narain was good when he was at a similar level, since the two have never raced together, it is a little difficult to answer that question. Besides, technology and training has developed so much in the past few years that it would not be right to compare the drivers, they really did go through very different scenarios.

Do you know if Karthikeyan might be considered by any other team? He was prominent in the international scene sometime ago, but faded along the way. Where do you think he missed out? It is like even some of his wins in the recent races did not make much news like Karun's victories.

Also, is it true that Karun is a better driver than Karthikeyan?

I did see the quote from Fisi and their relationship goes deeper than just the Force India team. Kingfisher is the main sponsor for Fisi's other racing team.

And Sutil is wanted by everyone, so Mallya being the business man that he is, will make very good use of it.

As far as Narain being a test driver, I kinda doubt it. He already had the option with Williams, but he just did not get enough seat time. The same could be the case with FIF1.

However, if Sutil were already traded to another team, and Karun being pulled in for the STR team, Narain might have an outside chance. But that is a big if.

In one of the interviews, Fisi said that he is happy about Mallya's comments as in - “I am very happy with what Vijay said about his drivers. I think that Adrian and I show strength and great team spirit, As I said before, I am very happy with Force India, I have a contract for 2009 and never saw myself out of it.”

Force India would not want to show the door for Sutil either.He is young,driving well and has a bright future. Infact, he almost got the team some points in Monaco unlike Fisi.

In that case will Karthikeyan be a test driver?

I would definitely like to see Karthikeyan first,Karun still has time and will make it anyways in sometime.